We just returned from our strategic planning trip in New York City. In reflecting about what I got “thematically” from the trip, it is this: the pure lack of humility and over-abundance of confidence (deserved) is actually what makes New York City the Mecca of dining.

If a table asks what biodynamic wine is, how much do they want to know? How much time do we have to devote to the answer? And how much does this guest care? All part of the decision making process when a guest stops us to ask us a question. The basics follow.

Indian cuisine has a long and storied history. Many culinary experts consider it to be one of the world’s most complex, so I can only write about our experience from a lay point of view. To pretend to have any expertise would be disingenuous.

We have covered hours of driving in this wild country in both rural and urban environments. In order to describe the conditions I must first detail the participants in the roadside community, beginning with animals…cattle, water buffalo, goats, pigs, dogs, and sometimes camels and elephants.

After a hellish 42-hour journey, my wife Paula and I made it to Delhi. It is hard to comprehend the sheer number of people, flowing like a river; natives, foreigners, black, brown, white, young and old, holy men and beggars, intermixed with cars, pedicabs, scooters, bicycles, cattle, goats and mangy dogs. The air is thick with smoke and incense, blending with pungent smells…some good, many bad, along with noise and chaos, yet no sense of threat. The food...

I have been using Niman Ranch beef and pork for going on 15 years. I have been to pork farms, seen confinement houses, met the Niman pork farmers in the Midwest, including two instances that were quite emotional. I decided I needed to see the cattle ranchers that raise the Niman beef we use because a recent tasting I participated in made me realize there were other companies out there trying hard to get a piece of the pie. This due diligence proved incredibly worthwhile.

Did you see the NY Times Magazine on Sunday? It was the food issue—choc full of good stuff for folks who care about food. The cover had Jamie Oliver, a chef I respect and even follow on Twitter, with a nice headline about his involvement in helping America's most obese county's school lunch program. But, don't we have the right person, right here, to do the job?

This is the third time I have gone to Star Chefs, which is a three-day event of demonstrations and speakers from the culinary world. The last two times had some great topics and I came away with a head full of ideas. Not food ideas, but ideas and thoughts about the restaurant industry as a whole and how we fit into it. You can check out last year's posts in the October 2008 Archive.